Post by Bonobo on Nov 6, 2010 22:29:49 GMT 1

Poland joins other Roman Catholic countries in celebration of All Saints Day, Monday.

"It's a good opportunity to reflect on the passing of time, of life and death,” Father Stanisław Szlassa told Polish Radio.

Families traditionally visit the graves of loved ones on what is a national holiday today to lay flowers and light candles.

A mass will be said by Warsaw Archbishop, Cardinal Kazimierz Nycz this morning at the church of St. Charles Borromeo and afterwards a procession will lead the faithful to Powązki and Wolski cemeteries.

The day has added poignancy this year as Poland will be remembering the 96 who died in the Smolensk air disaster, including President Lech Kaczynski and Firest Lady Maria in April this year.

Christians have been honouring saints and martyrs on the Day of the Dead since the second century A.D.

In Western Christian theology, the day commemorates all those who have attained the beatific vision in Heaven. It is a national holiday in many historically Catholic countries. In the Roman Catholic Church, the next day, All Souls' Day, specifically commemorates the departed faithful who have not yet been purified and reached heaven. Catholics celebrate All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day in the fundamental belief that there is a prayerful spiritual communion between those in the state of grace who have died and are either being purified in purgatory or are in heaven (the 'church penitent' and the 'church triumphant', respectively), and the 'church militant' who are the living. Other Christian traditions define, remember and respond to the saints in different ways.

In Poland, the Czech Republic, Sweden, Finland, Slovenia, Slovakia, Lithuania, Croatia, Austria, Romania, Moldova, Hungary and Catholic parts of Germany, the tradition is to light candles and visit the graves of deceased relatives.

Post by Bonobo on Nov 1, 2017 21:31:14 GMT 1

Today as usual. We visited 5 cemeteries with my family graves in the city and my wife`s out of it. We lit lanterns and said prayers. We bought candies. We donated for the maintanance of local cemeteries. It didn`t rain and the traffic was tolerable, although we went to city cemeteries in the evening when roads are open for cars (normally only public transport is allowed in the vicinity).

According to analysts, Polish citizens will buy more than half of the annual sales of votive candles during All Saints’ Day celebrations on November 1.

The votive candles – candles burnt in Catholic cemeteries in memory of the deceased – are a vital part of Poland’s All Saints’ Day celebrations. This year, rainbow effects, gold or silver elements, chapel-shaped, and floral-shaped votive candles are in high demand. The candles will be capable of burning up to 100 hours.

“In no other country is there such interest in votive candles as in Poland,” Witold Nieć, advisor on public relations in the company Polwax, the only candle producer noted on the stock market, told the “Rzeczpospolita” daily.

Data from 2017 reveals that around 200,000 people are employed in Poland’s votive candle industry.

The production of votive candles is niche enough that the market cannot be analysed in detail, taking into account a large number of independent market stalls and sellers outside Poland’s cemeteries. The numbers are high, however. In 2016, Polwax signed a contract worth around PLN 60 mln (EUR 13.9 mln) with the owner of the chain of “Biedronka” supermarkets for the delivery of votive candles.

“The only available information is based on the estimations of producers, which show that the market in retail sales may be worth over PLN 1 bn (EUR 230 mln),” Mr Nieć explained.

Poland is a monopolist of votive candle industry, the import of these products into the country is practically non-existent.

“We send our goods around Europe, including to Ukraine and Lithuania. There was a moment a few years ago when battery operated LED candles came from China, but it was a commercial misfire. Polish votive candle producers are monopolists in Europe and a global leader,” the deputy head of the National Association of Producers of Candles and Votive Candles Joanna Karpeta said.